A Little Girl Lost

When Earl first heard about my wreck, he prayed that I would live, “…as long as she is Berta.” Two months later my neurosurgeon told Earl, “If she lives she’ll be brain damaged, ventilator-dependent, and bedridden for life.”

The doctor told Earl, “You are too young to be stuck with an invalid wife.” Then he offered some simple things that could be withheld to allow me to die quickly but comfortably.

In that moment, God replayed in Earl’s mind the oath he swore on our wedding day. In the voice of Reverend John Jones, he heard “…in sickness and in health, forsaking all others, keeping thee only unto her, so long as you both shall live.”

Without hesitation, in his spirit, Earl said, “I do.”

Earl chose life for me that day and has been my primary caregiver for twenty-three years. He has done everything and more than expected.

Earl has a super power. He is a child of God. He relies on his Christian faith to get us through each day. So often, we pray for renewed strength, rest and peace in our spirits.

Wherever we go, people watch me, the disabled one. But, few talk to Earl as a caregiver.